Local and state leaders are making sure an American hero and North Texas native is not forgotten.
On Friday, leaders in The Colony unveiled new signage for Farm-to-Market Road 423 which will rename the highway the U.S. Army Sgt. Enrique Mondragon Memorial Highway.
Mondragon was killed in action on Christmas Eve 2012 while fighting in Afghanistan.
The renaming was pursued by State Representative Pat Fallon (R) of Frisco who started the push after meeting Mondragon’s widowed wife, Katie and daughter Beverly, shortly after the soldier’s death.
Fallon was able to get unanimous support for the measure in both the Texas House and Senate, a move he said is very rare.
"150 (house) members voted in favor of changing the name,” Fallon told a crowd of dozens at the name changing ceremony Friday. “It was beautiful.”
Mondragon grew up in The Colony and met his wife in Frisco, where they both worked. The couple eventually settled down in Little Elm, where she and Beverly still call home today.
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Fitting, Fallon pointed out, that the highway span all three of those cities that are so close to the Mondragons.
Enrique’s now five-year-old daughter wore a heart-shaped locket with his picture in it during the ceremony, and Katie touched her wedding ring as speakers spoke of the family’s sacrifice.
The highway renaming had to be funded locally, for which city councils and mayors in all three cities came together to make happen. Several members stressed the importance Friday of having the memorial in Mondragon’s hometown where his parents, siblings and wife can see it and his daughter can grow up with in her life.
"When she's 75-years-old, she can show her grandchildren how the entire state of Texas, 27 million strong, recognized her father and their grandfather,” said Fallon.
Enrique’s sister, Isareli Mondragon-Charo, said that the family still grieves, but remembers him as a loving father and husband.
"My brother, he was a man of few words, but he would motivate you to do things and not to quit,” said Isareli. "He will never be forgotten."
